


You forget everything. Everything.

by nickblack



Category: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Video Game), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, himbo!Link rights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29675577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickblack/pseuds/nickblack
Summary: Revali isn't getting along with Link, despite Link's attemps at making them more friendly. One day, Link once again tries getting closer to him, but things don't go exactly as planned.What ensues is Link and Revali coming to terms with their feelings during the days before the Calamity Ganon. What they need is time -and time is a luxury they can't seem to afford.
Relationships: Daruk & Link & Mipha & Revali & Urbosa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link & Revali (Legend of Zelda), Link/Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 40





	1. Why him?

**Author's Note:**

> This what revalink brainrot does to a mf, I should be writing literally anything else, but I can't stop thinking about this story idea, and well, them™.
> 
> This takes place during the Age of Calamity, but because I am not a coward and I love pain, you know what's coming at the end. Or do you? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The cold & strong winds were blowing across the Hebra Mountains, carrying snow with them. Despite the harsh weather, Revali, the proud Rito warrior, was practicing his archery at the flight range. His movements were swift and skillful, the arrows hit their targets at record speed -and yet- you could notice a hint of anger and frustration behind each forceful draw of the bow. 

He prepared to fire another arrow. 

The princess had come to the Rito Village to offer him the role of piloting the divine beast, Vah Medoh. He of course accepted, piloting the divine beast against the calamity was a great honor -and it served as some royal recognition towards his skills. Finally. 

He just couldn't get the knight, who follows the princess everywhere, out of his mind. Upon the princess' visit, the knight had fought Revali, and as much as Revali wanted to deny it, he had struggled against the knight. He? The chosen Champion of the Rito had trouble with some pesty knight? And just when Revali thought he got the upper hand -the princess had interrupted them. The whole situation bothered him, but to be honest, he could've gotten over it (or at least tried), but because of his new role as the Rito Champion: he has to be involved with the princess, **meaning** , he has to see the knight each time. How asinine.

Revali fired the arrow, but it missed its target. 

He groaned and rolled his eyes. Link. Even when he's not here, he's messing up everything. Link. The sword that seals the darkness had also chosen him. Why him? What's so great about _him_? Link. Chosen by destiny, born into greatness, never had to truly work for what he has. Why does it _have to be him_? _Everything_ about Link got under his skin. From the way he's 'the chosen one', to the way he bested him in battle, to the way he's always so kind to him, despite of everything -and the way his dumb pretty blue eyes seem to shine with passion everytime he fights-

Sharply, Revali pulled a bomb arrow and fired it towards the target, blowing it up.

\--

Ever since the sword had chosen Link, people have treated him… differently. He went from being royal knight to, well, the hero of Hyrule overnight. Link was honored by the new title, but he did enjoy the more peaceful life of just being the princess' trusted knight. Though, his new role meant he got to spend more time with the other champions. Link really liked their company. They were his friends. Family, even. Mipha has been his good friend ever since childhood, Daruk took him as a brother almost immediately, Urbosa has deep appreciation and respect for Link, for protecting Zelda, and Revali… he isn't exactly sure. Link likes to think they're friends, even if Revali isn't always that nice to him. Link wants to make sure they're good, that's why Link always makes extra effort being nice to him. Whether it is helping Revali during their missions or just smiling at him when they meet -nothing seems to work. If anything, Revali seems only more resentful towards him each time. Still, Link doesn't give up. Link's latest attempt was today. Zelda informed Link about group of Bokoblins and a Hinox that are causing trouble near the Rito Village. Apparently Revali had already some plans against the monsters -and Link of course was willing to help.

Link was waiting for Revali in front of the Rito Village entrance. He kept his eyes at the village, in hopes of maybe spotting him. Suddenly, Link felt gust of wind above, then behind him. Link turned his head slightly and saw familiar blue feathers from the corner of his eye.

"I still do not understand why do you think _I_ need _your_ help." Revali stood few meters away from Link, his back towards him & wings crossed. 

Link now turned around fully, kind smile on his face. "It's good to see you, Revali."

Revali turned his head to have a better look at Link. _Why is he like this?_ He kept his gaze, thinking something clever to say, but then scoffed, "C'mon. We have a job to do." He spread his wings and flew towards the skies. "The monsters should be in this direction!" Revali shouted, as he started making his way towards the mountains.

Link let out a soft laugh and kept his eyes at Revali, smiling fondly. Seeing Revali fly like that -it truly was breathtaking. Suddenly Link's fond expression turned into confusion. What was he thinking? Revali is a Rito, Ritos fly, there's nothing special about it. Though, he's still pretty amazing- Link shook his head. He should get going, they _do_ have a job to do. He started to run after Revali.

\--

Link wandered around the chilling wilderness -alone. He had lost Revali. Link knew the Rito champion was arrogant, but you'd think he'd wait for him. They agreed to do this together after all. What if he's already fighting the Hinox? All alone? Revali's confidence was one of his greatest strengths, but it was also one of his weaknesses. Link knew Revali was a skillful fighter and he could handle himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling of 'but what if'. Revali might not consider Link as his friend, but Link sure did -and now he was worried about his friend.

Link was walking along the side of a mountain and he was holding onto the rocky wall to keep himself more balanced. He noticed the wall was about to end and that there was a wider area behind the mountain. Field. As he was about to step into the field, he felt something grabbing him by the shoulders and flung him forcefully backwards. Link closed his eyes as he fell down, back against the ground.

"And what do you think you're doing now?" Link heard familiar, slightly angry, yet whispering, voice above him. He opened his eyes and saw Revali's bright green eyes staring at him. Revali stood top of him, bending over so that his face was close to Link's. He seemed kind of irritated. Link answered him with an awkward smile. He wasn't exactly sure what Revali meant. The only thing he was sure about was that he was relieved about the fact that Revali seemed to be alright.

"Hmph". Revali rolled his eyes and stepped away from Link, allowing Link to sit up.

"The Bokoblins and the Hinox are just around that corner", Revali explained, looking away from Link. "I was flying above them, trying to think of a plan." He turned to look at Link and pointed at him. "Until **you** almost ruined everything. What? You were just gonna march in without any kind of plan?"

Link looked at him in silence for few seconds, then just shrugged & smiled innocently. _Isn't that what he usually does?_ Revali closed his eyes and sighed heavily. _Link is absolutely unbelievable in the worst ways possible._ He opened his eyes to look at Link again. _And in the best, unfortunately._ Revali walked past Link, hitting him on the head with his wing.

"Get up, 'hero'. Let's get those monsters out of here, shall we?"

\--

Snow started to fall from the skies. Link and Revali were watching the group of monsters from higher ground. There were 10 Silver Bokoblins, that were gathered around a campfire. Preparing some sort of meat, it seemed. Then there was the Black Hinox, who was sleeping not that far away from the Bokoblins.

"So, any great ideas?" Revali asked, turning his head towards Link. Link placed his hand on his chin, apparently thinking of something. Then he got it. He took his Sheikah Slate out of his pocket and formed a bright blue bomb on his hand. Link looked at the bomb, then turned his eyes onto Revali, smirking playfully, looking for a response.

"A bomb? Wha- Link, **no** ." Revali shook his head. "An explosion here would cause-" Revali's eyes widened. _Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all_ . Link tilted his head, keeping his smirk. _Is Revali smiling?_

The Bokoblins were eating their food. Suddenly behind them, up in the mountain, they heard a loud noise and the monsters lifted their heads to its direction. Even the Hinox opened its eye a little. They waited. Then they started to hear a mild rumbling sound, that only grew stronger by the second. The Hinox now opened its eye properly and tried to see where the noise was coming from -only to see an avalanche of snow and rocks coming their way from the mountain. The Bokoblins started to scream and run away. The Hinox tried desperately to get up. As it finally got up, it glanced in the avalanche's direction, only to get swept away by the snow and rocks. The Hinox and most of the Bokoblins got buried under the snow, while some Bokoblins got flung over a cliff that was behind them.

There was complete silence. Upon seeing there was no monsters in sight, Revali appeared flying from the frost mist and landed on the snow. Link soon followed him with his paraglider. Revali followed Link as he landed next to him. Link's landing seemed little clumsy, he almost fell over once he landed on the ground. _Is this really the chosen Hero of Hyrule? Goddess help us_. Still, Revali couldn't help it -he also found Link's clumsiness kind of… endearing.

Once regaining his posture, Link met Revali's eyes. Link didn't see the same cold & harsh stare Revali usually gave him. Could he be… happy with Link? Revali had agreed to _his_ plan and _they did it_. Link couldn't help the smile that was growing on his face. _Perhaps the Rito Champion was finally warming up to him?_ The sudden realization of how much he actually yearned for the Rito's approval took Link by surprise.

They stared each other in silence for few seconds. Seconds that felt like they lasted longer than they should've. Link suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach and how his heart started to race. _This feeling he felt with Revali… could it be-_

Revali broke Link's train of thought with a cough, all the silence and staring was getting too _uncomfortable_. He took few steps forward, away from Link.

"That plan of yours. It was truly simplistic, I could've done this easily by myself. Then again, it was also full of all sorts of risks -no wonder _I_ didn't think of it", Revali sounded annoyed. He turned around to face Link, and Link once again saw the cold stare he had gotten used to. Link's smile faded and he lowered his gaze away from Revali. He almost replied with 'well, you agreed to it', but he didn't want to aggravate Revali more, so he kept his silence. Revali studied Link's disappointed expression. **Why** does Link have this effect on him? There's something about him -many things actually- that make him want to hate him, but once he expresses that, he… _Curses_ , seeing Link unhappy too was terrible. 

_"But"_ , he sighed, "I guess we did end up victorious… thanks to you", Revali's voice had more softer tone to it. And he had to admit to himself; it was quite… fun. Link quickly looked back up, looking more cheerful.

"Hmph." Revali turned his back at Link once again and closed his eyes. "Don't let it go to your head". He didn't want the hylian to see his own soften expression. _What is this? Could it-_ **_no_ ** _._

Suddenly the ground beneath them started to shake, Link and Revali were both trembling along with it. Then from the snow, with huge force, huge black fist appeared between the two warriors. Link fell back from the impact and hit his head on a rock when hitting the ground, and Revali quickly flew up. _The Hinox was still alive and now rising from the snow._

"It's never this easy, I should've known", Revali murmured to himself. He started to circle around the monster, who had now gotten fully up. It shook the remaining snow from its body and let out a mighty roar.

"Tsk". Revali backed away from the Hinox as it roared. Link was still laying on the ground, slightly unconscious, but snapped out of it upon hearing the roar. He needed to move and fast. Link tried standing up as fast as he could, but the headache made his movements slower. The Hinox set its eye on Link and started approaching him. Link couldn't run away, the Hinox was already pretty close anyway. He took out his sword, preparing himself for what was coming.

_What is he doing!?_ Revali thought and by instinct shouted out desperately: "Link!"


	2. Broken Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> waddup im nick im 21 and i never fucking learned how to write action
> 
> Will (try to) update this weekly!

Link was tightening his grip around his sword. The only thing he heard was the howling snowy winds and the Hinox's approaching heavy steps. The Hinox was now really close and he watched as the monster was raising its fist, ready to slam it against him. But then, it twitched and stopped. _Did something hit it?_ Then, Link saw Revali appearing from behind the Hinox. The Hinox's attention was now on Revali, who flew between it and Link, and fired another arrow. The arrow flew straight to Hinox's eye and the beast fell sitting down, tending to its hurting eye.

Revali turned to look at Link. "What are you waiting for, you fool?" He nodded towards the monster. One good hit from the Master Sword to its weak spot should do the trick. "Go for it!"

Link nodded determinedly. He took few quick steps toward the Hinox and jumped, preparing to strike with his sword. The sword barely hit the monster's face, when Link saw the Hinox's huge hand fastly approaching him and it swept him away. Link fell on his back, and as he did, he heard a small 'crack' sound. _That can't be good._ He quickly got back up and reached for his back. Behind his shield, he checked his Paraglider. It was broken. _Great_.

"Well, at least it wasn't your bones. Where exactly did you keep that thing anyway?" Revali remarked as he landed next to Link. Link shrugged disappointedly. Both of their heads turned back to the Hinox, who was now back on its feet. Revali took a deep breath.

"Guess we have no choice, but to try again. You ready?" he asked, keeping his sharp eyes on the Hinox -it had finally spotted the two after a quick look around.

Link was just about to reply to him, but then Revali interrupted him:

"Good, let's go." Revali flew up with strong gusts of wind, blowing the snow around him. He was approaching the Hinox's face, but dodged it just in time and scratched the top of the Hinox's head, taking the monster's attention to himself. 

Link watched Revali's flying and let out a quiet breathy laugh, "Hah, you can't say he doesn't try." Link quickly reached for his sword from the snow, dropped the broken Paraglider and started running towards the Hinox, who unsuccessfully tried hitting Revali. The Hinox moved too much, Revali couldn't take the shot. Link ran behind the beast's back, hitting its leg with his sword. The Hinox turned around and looked down at Link. Link quickly backed away from the monster, waiting for its next move. The Hinox crouched down and picked up a big rock. It seemed to be normal for the Hinox to pick up objects and then throw them as a form of attacking. Link prepared himself to dodge. Meanwhile, Revali was preparing to fire another arrow. His plan was to get the Hinox's attention back to him by shooting one, and when it would finally turn around, he would take the second shot straight to its eye. Revali was just about to release the arrow, when the Hinox suddenly turned around, throwing the rock towards him.

"What-", Revali gasped in shock and then the rock hit him. He fell on the ground, next to a cliff's edge. The Hinox grinned menacingly at Revali and started walking towards him slowly. Link flinched at the sight. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Link needed to think of something -and fast. Revali opened his eyes and hazily saw the approaching Hinox. He tried getting up, but then felt flinching pain from his wing and collapsed back down.

"Dam- damn it", he breathed. The Hinox prepared to hit Revali with its fist. Revali closed his eyes, bracing himself for what was coming. But instead of getting crushed under the Hinox's fist, he heard a loud 'clunk' sound. Carefully, Revali opened his eyes again, only to see Link standing right in front of him, holding his shield up against the Hinox's fist. Link grunted, it looked like it took all of Link's strength and willpower to hold back the Hinox's attack. Revali could feel the time slowing down as he watched in awe at his defender. _For some reason_ , Revali's heart was beating even faster now than when he was fighting. After taking a sharp breath, Link lifted his other hand to strike at the Hinox's arm with his sword. The Hinox flinched and took a few steps backwards. Link could feel his whole body aching and his breathing was heavy. Link turned his head to look at Revali, to meet his still lingering gaze. Seeing Revali being alright calmed Link down a bit. Well, as alright as he could be considering their situation. They both had endured some serious damage. Link was determined to end this, before something even worse happened. Link's eyes wandered back to the Hinox, who seemed extremely angry, then he quickly examined the cliffside. _That's a pretty rough fall. But would it be enough..?_ Revali studied Link's face, still lying on the ground -he had a bad feeling.

"Link, what are you planning? Link?" he tried to ask, but Link didn't seem to notice. His eyes were now on the monster and he started sprinting towards it.

" _Li-_ Oh, goddammit. And _I_ _am_ the stubborn one?" Revali muttered under his breath and tried once again getting back up. The Hinox flung its arm at Link, but he dodged it swiftly. Link slashed the ground with his sword and threw snow & dirt at the Hinox, provoking it more. Some of the dirt hit its eye, weakening its eyesight. Still, Link made sure the Hinox saw him before making his next move. The beast roared as it started walking closer to him. Link turned around to head back towards the edge. The Hinox had its damaged eye locked on Link and it began to run after Link. It was determined to get rid of him. Revali finally was able to get up, his right wing was hurting pretty badly still. Revali's attention was drawn to Link and the massive monster chasing him. Link was clearly leading the beast towards the cliff's edge, but… Link doesn't seem to slow down? _Why isn't he slowing down!?_

"Link, what are you- Stop!" Revali tried shouting after Link, but he didn't listen. As Link stepped on the edge, _he jumped_. Panic spread across Revali's face. _No, no, no, not like this._ The Hinox noticed the cliff and tried to stop, but it was too late. After wobbling on the edge, it fell down face first after Link. Link managed to turn, so he was facing the Hinox. The monster couldn't protect its eye now, but it was too far away to hit it with the sword. Link reached for his bow behind his shield and took aim.

"Here goes nothing." Link fired the arrow and it hit straight into its target. Link felt a sense of relief -the arrow and the fall would take care of the Hinox. All he needed to do now was quickly take out his Paraglider and-- _Oh, right._ Link glanced at the ground that was fastly closing in. The small relief he had turned into panic. Link wondered which is going to do him in? Hitting the ground or getting crushed under the Hinox? Suddenly, Link noticed something flying really fast towards him from the side. _Revali._ He wrapped his wings around Link and the two plunged out of the Hinox's way. Link let out a small sharp breath, as Revali shielded most of his body with his wings and Link's face was pressed onto his shoulder. Link didn't have that much time to process what was going on however -after a couple of seconds- they all crashed into the snow and everything went dark.

\--

Everything was quiet. Link started to regain his consciousness. He felt cold snow on his skin, even under his clothes. Seems like the snow had softened their landing. But he also felt something soft and… warm. He opened his eyes slowly and saw… feathers. Revali was still tightly holding onto him. He didn't seem to be awake. Link could feel his heartbeat and breathing against his body. _Revali is still alive, thank the Goddesses._ The silence Revali's heartbeat felt… _nice_. Link took in the moment of peace. No matter how peaceful the moment felt -they couldn't stay here. Link needed to figure out where they were and how they would get back home. Link tried to look around, but couldn't properly move his head, because of Revali. All he managed to see were trees and more snow.

"Revali? Hey, Revali, are you okay?" Link tried to ask. After a moment of silence, he heard a groan. Revali was finally starting to wake up.

"Hhnng… What now?" Revali sounded extremely worn out. He opened his eyes. For a moment, he was confused about his whereabouts. Then remembered what had happened and realized _who_ he was holding onto. Revali loosened his grip and pulled his head away from Link. Link also lifted his head to meet his eyes. Suddenly, Link felt those same butterflies in his stomach from earlier. He tried his best to hide the feeling, keeping his face as stoic as possible. He couldn't properly read Revali's own facial expression, though. Was he in shock? Nervous? Well, considering what had just happened it's no wonder. Meanwhile, Revali was just relieved that Link couldn't notice him blushing.

"You saved me?" 

"Of course I saved you", Revali sounded slightly offended that Link even had to ask that. A small smile started to creep on Link's stoic face. _He does care_.

"Erm, I mean-" Revali looked away from him. "Of course I saved you; that's kinda the thing we, **I** , do these days." He let go of Link and started to get up. "And you know, the princess would've personally ripped my head off if something were to happen- _Ack_." Revali felt sudden pain in his wing again. He placed his other wing on it to support it.

"Are you okay?" Link asked as he also got up.

"What does it look like?! I… I think it might be broken. This is what I get from saving you."

"Oh… I'm sorry about that. But don't worry, once-"

"'Don't worry'!? My wing is broken, Link! I can't fly with it and without my flight I'm-" Revali cut himself off and looked away. He didn't want to finish that sentence. Revali's behavior worried Link. What isn't he telling him?

"I was just going to say; once we get back, Mipha can surely heal you. You'll be flying again in no time", Link's voice sounded compassionate, which Revali appreciated, but it also bothered him. He didn't need pity from anyone -especially from Link.

"Hmph. And how exactly we'd get back? We are in the middle of nowhere and **_I can't even fly_ **."

"Hmm… I suppose we can use the Sheikah Slate. Purah showed us how the Slate's fast travel function works."

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Do that… Use that slate thing, or whatever it was."

Link nodded and reached for his pocket. It was empty. Maybe he put it somewhere else… Link's hands wandered all over him looking for the Slate.

Link stopped as the realization hit him. "Oh no."

"Oh no?" Revali repeated, confused.

"I…" Link spoke quietly and avoided Revali's eye contact. "I think I lost it."

"You- What do you mean 'you think you lost it'!?"

"Why are you repeating what I just said? Yeah, I think I lost it during the fall."

" _Repating-?_ " Revali shook his head. "The only thing I'll be repeating is you falling from that cliff and this time I won't be saving you -if you don't find that damn Slate!" Revali started to walk away from Link, hitting his shoulder into his on the way.

Link sighed and followed Revali with his eyes. "Where are you going?"

"It's getting dark and I am tired, I'm gonna find shelter. You better have that Slate next time I see you", Revali answered and kept on walking. Link shrugged and went looking for the Sheikah Slate.

\--

Revali had found a small cave. He was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, eyes closed. The darkness had fallen and the snowy wind was pretty harsh, but he did appreciate the peace and quiet of the cave after everything. The sound of approaching footsteps broke that silence, however. He wasn't sure would he prefer the owner of those footsteps to be some kind of monster or… He opened his eyes. _Link_. Link was carrying a bunch of sticks and wood with him.

"So… He goes out looking for his Sheikah Slate and returns with a pile of sticks. That's the Hero of Hyrule for you."

Link tried his best to ignore Revali's remarks -like he usually does. Link sat on his knees and placed the wood on the ground.

"I thought we could use some fire right about now", Link explained.

Revali sighed disappointedly, "I take it you didn't find the Slate."

"No… But I'm sure we'll find it once we have more daylight", Link tried to remain positive. "You wouldn't happen to have any flint with you?"

"...'Flint'?"

"Yeah, flint. I can use it to start the fir-"

Revali quickly pulled a fire arrow behind his back and hit it at the pile, lighting it up.

Link watched the fire with a surprised expression. "Or we can do that, yeah, sure."

Revali gave Link one judgemental look, then turned his eyes onto the fire. They sat there in silence for a while.

"Without your flight you're what?" Link finally broke the silence.

Revali met his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just… The thing you said earlier."

"...Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"What happened to you being silent most of the time?" Revali sounded more irritated than usual. "I said; don't worry about it."

Link almost gave it up, but he was tired of the silence, the words just blurted out of him:

"But _I do_ worry about it. _I worry about_ **_you_ **."

Revali looked at Link in little disbelief. He didn't know how to take his words. Someone worrying about him, _caring about him,_ isn't exactly something he's used to. He usually just pushes people away. The way he's tried to push Link away, but he still…

Revali looked away from Link and sighed deeply, " **Fine** . Sometimes I feel like my ability to fly is all I have. I'm extremely skilled with bow and arrow, _don't get me wrong_ , but… Anyone can master that skill. Even you're… _moderately_ good at it. But my archery combined with my flying? Well, now I am the Rito Champion." A faint smile grew on Revali's face. Link watched him fondly as Revali continued:

"To be one of the Champions. Finally people would recognize my worth. Finally _I_ would be remembered." Revali's smile faded. "But how exactly? Urbosa is the Gerudo Chief, Mipha is the Zora princess, Daruk, well, he's The Great Daruk™ and you…" He turned his eyes on Link. He seemed to be listening carefully at every word. "You are the chosen Hero of the Sword. That's how you, all of you, will be remembered. Then there's me. The only thing that makes me special is my flying. That's why I want to perfect it. Heh, guess the thing I was going to say was; without my flight I am nothing."

Link didn't know what to say, he had no idea Revali felt like this. Or rather, he had a feeling that he was overcompensating for something with his behavior, but this… Link moved so he could sit next to Revali and placed his hand on his shoulder. Revali flinched slightly at the touch.

"I can't say how others will see or remember you, but, for what it's worth, to me there's so much more to you. And if I can see that -I'm sure others will too, if they haven't already."

Revali's eyes widened. Link's words meant so much for Revali and there was so much he wanted to say in return, but his pride wouldn't let him. Link let go of his shoulder and turned to look at the fire. He seemed to be lost in thought and even… sad.

"You know, I kinda get what you mean. What do you know about the previous Hero? Or the ones before him?"

Revali was dumbfounded. He wasn't expecting the question, and also, he hasn't really thought about the subject.

"Uh… I don't know, they all fought Ganon with that Sword or something like that?"

Link let out a soft laugh, "Yeah, something like that. The thing is, no one seems to remember them outside the legend. People will remember me, yes, but they'll only remember _what_ I was and not _who_ I was. Everyone started treating me differently immediately after what happened in Korok Forest and I…" He took a deep breath and shrugged. "I am the chosen one now. _That makes me special._ I know I shouldn't complain, but sometimes I wish that being _just Link_ would make me worth remembering too. If that makes any sense."

Revali watched Link in silence for a moment, then nudged him with his wing, getting his attention.

"You know, _for_ _what it's worth_ , I'd much rather remember 'just Link' over the Chosen One", Revali spoke in a soft tune, but with a hint of teasing in his voice and he smiled. Link could feel those damn butterflies again, but this time he couldn't hide it behind the stoic expression, he let the smile grow on his face. Gazing into each others' eyes, Link had to finally admit it to himself; _he had a crush_. _Oh no_.

"There they are!" Familiar voice broke up the moment. Link and Revali turned both of their heads towards the cave's opening and saw someone appearing from the darkness.

"Impa!" The two said in unison.

"Hello, boys", Impa greeted. She moved slightly away from the cave to wave at someone. "Over here!"

Soon Mipha also appeared next to her. "Link!" she shouted happily and rushed for a hug. "Are you hurt? Let me see."

Revali rolled his eyes at the sight of them. "How did you find us?" he asked from Impa.

"Zelda thought Link was gone for little too long and got worried, so she asked Purah to track his Sheikah Slate. Then we two agreed to come to your aid", Impa explained.

"Hmph, I see. But I thought Link lost it? The Slate thing?"

"You mean this?" Impa pulled the Sheikah Slate from her pocket. "It was laying in the snow near by."

"Of course it was", Revali scoffed. He turned his eyes onto Mipha who was gently healing Link's minuscule wounds right next to him. Revali felt a not-so-pleasant feeling in his chest. He got up and started making his way out of the cave. "Great. So, do I get to go home now?"


	3. Friendly Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Revali & Urbosa friendship is something I need in life.
> 
> This still counts as a weekly update, right? Yas. 
> 
> As of now, I have 6 chapters planned for this fic, which means we're at the halfway point. And because of that, I think I'll take a little break from the story for school reasons. And by small break -I truly mean small. Like, only one week or so. I'm really motivated to finish this, but life is a bitch. But anyways, hopefully you'll like the "romcom" chapter & chapter 4 will be out before March ends! ♡

"Is everything all right, little guy?" Daruk asked from Link, as the two were walking side by side. Link had been tasked to help Daruk with some monsters near the Goron City. Link looked up to Daruk, he wasn't exactly sure what the Goron meant.

"It's just that… I know you're usually quiet, but somehow you've been even... more quiet lately, you know?" Daruk scratched his head. "So, I was just wondering; is something troubling you?"

Link wasn't sure how to answer. Something is troubling him, or rather, he realized something and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

Couple of weeks had passed since Link and Revali's --as Daruk likes to call it-- 'little adventure' and ever since then, the two of them have been avoiding each other, which was for the better, Link thought. The Calamity was drawing near and **that** deserved all of Link's attention. He had no time to think about whatever feelings he thought he had for the Rito Champion. So the distance between was good. It was good. Then why did it feel bad?

"Okay, spill it", Urbosa's stern voice startled Revali. He turned around to look at her.

"Forgive me, Urbosa, but I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Urbosa crossed her arms. "You're acting differently. There have been less, or even none, clever quips from you recently."

"....And that's somehow a problem?"

"No clever quips _even_ towards Link. Actually, now that I think about it, both of you have been acting weird ever since you returned from Hebra. What exactly happened there?"

Revali winced at the mention of Link's name and he looked down at the sand beneath his feet. It's true, he's trying to ignore Link as much as possible these days. Which is surprisingly easy, since the hylian has been more distant. He felt ashamed of himself for opening up like that -especially to Link. So it's a good thing Link doesn't try to 'befriend' him anymore. The thought of 'maybe he thinks less of me now' creeped in every now and then, which shouldn't matter. It shouldn't matter what Link thinks of him and yet...

He sighed irritatedly, "And here I thought we were supposed to find those Yiga Footsoldiers. Look, I don't exactly enjoy the desert and the heat, so if we could just-" He gestured with his wing to keep going. Urbosa raised an eyebrow, silently judging him.

"C'mon, little dude!" Daruk ~gently~ hit Link's back. "You can talk to me."

"Ack!" Link regained his posture. He avoided Daruk's eye contact and rubbed his neck. "I- I don't know. I mean, it could be that the Calamity is making me a little nervous, or something."

"Hmm..? Is that so?" Daruk gave him a doubtful look.

"Since when **you** were the nervous type?" Urbosa asked, as she looked up to Revali. Revali flew on top of a large rock to better see their surroundings.

"Oh, I am sorry that the impending doom that's heading towards us on the princess' birthday is making me a little tense", Revali snarked and rolled his eyes. "I see some movement in the west, could be the Yiga. We should check it out", he said and landed next to Urbosa. He studied her face. She still looked like she didn't buy entirely what Revali was saying, but at least she was quiet.

"Hm. Seems like the interrogation is finally over. Good." Revali turned around and started walking. Urbosa stayed still & followed him with her eyes, thinking.

"So that means everything is normal between and Link, huh? Great, that means you two can accompany me tomorrow", Urbosa said, stopping Revali in his tracks. He turned his head slightly.

"I don't see how that's necessary. Link, I mean. I'm sure the two of us can get the job done just fine," Revali replied, then continued almost whispering, "Or maybe you could ask somebody else."

"That's interesting", Urbosa whispered to herself, then continued more loudly, "Fine, maybe Daruk could come with us instead. I'm sure Link can assist Mipha instead. Mipha does appreciate his company -unlike you, it seems."

Revali turned his head fully to look at her. She couldn't help but smile at the way he narrowed his sharp eyes in annoyance. She clearly hit a nerve.

Link sat down on a large log, burying his face into his hands. The heat of Death Mountain and Daruk's constant worrying were getting to him.

"Okay, fine, it's just… This is really new to me and I don't know how to handle it. Or if I even wanna handle it", Link finally said.

 _'Oh, it's happening'_ , Daruk realized that Link was finally opening up to him and eagerly sat down next to him. The log bounced as he sat down, startling Link slightly. 'Really?' Link thought as he turned his head to look at Daruk's friendly face.

"Go on now. What's new to you?"

Link sighed and looked away from him. He wasn't sure where, _or even_ **_how_ **, to start. "I… Have you ever been in love, Daruk?", Link asked. His eyes carefully turned to Daruk. It wasn't like him just to share his thoughts with his friends, so he wasn't sure how Daruk would react. But to his surprise, Daruk's face had lit up with excitement. He was happy that Link trusted him enough to talk about, well, anything really. Then Daruk's joyful smile turned into a knowing smirk and he tilted his head.

" _Love_ , eh?"

Slight panic took over Link. " _Lo-_ I didn't mean it like that, I don't know, what I meant was-" Link took a deep breath to calm himself and rested his head on his hands. "...This is what I meant when I said 'I don't know how to handle it'."

"So you have a little crush? That's great, Link! I knew there were some emotions under that stoic shell!"

"...Is it, though? I really don't have the time for this, considering everything." Or rather _'I_ **_can't_ ** _have the time for it.'_

" _Considering everything_ , that's why it is so great! I'm glad you've managed to find some happiness in your life, despite everything that's happening around us. I know it's easily forgotten, especially these days, but there's so much more to life than just fighting. Actually, things like that, love, happiness and what have you, really give me more drive to beat that Calamity, you know? We need to fight for them. We all need something worth fighting for. Fight for that _happy ever after_ -no matter how dumb it sounds." Daruk's optimism brought a small smile on Link's face. Deep down, he knows Daruk's right, but even still, it seemed like _the feeling_ made him feel anything else but happiness. There were moments when he allowed himself to feel happy about it, he allowed himself to think of the 'what could be'. The brief thoughts of what his true happiness could even look like would always come crashing down though, because Link knows he could never have it. He has a destiny to fulfill, and whatever dreams about his future he might have, they're not part of it _-and there is no way_ **_he_ ** _could even feel the same way anyway._

"So you like him or something? What's the big deal?" Urbosa asked while resting her back against the large rock. She glanced down at clearly flustered Revali, who was sitting on the sand. He was nervously toying with some stick he had picked from the ground.

"What? **No**. No, that's not it." He snapped the stick in half. "That **can't** be it!"

Urbosa gave him a worrisome look. "...A-ha, clearly. Listen, no matter what this _thing_ is going between you two, you need to work it out. **Talk**."

Revali responded by rolling his eyes. He really doesn't want to go through that conversation. He can barely process his own thoughts and now he needs to put those thoughts into words? Pass.

"I'm serious, Revali. If not for your sake, for the team's. We all need to work together, but that won't happen if you keep acting like this."

Revali sighed. "What do you want me to do? Link isn't exactly 'enjoying' my company these days, in case you haven't noticed."

"Hmm… Come with me to the castle after we're done here. I'm sure we'll figure something out. But now that's out of the way -why don't we go kick some Yiga butt?"

Revali let out a small laugh and looked up to her. "Yiga butt? Really?"

Urbosa smiled and kicked him gently. "Just get up and follow me."

\--

Link had agreed to accompany Daruk back to Goron City after they successfully chased the monsters far away from the city. Link was watching the setting sun as the two were walking along the mountainside. The sight was calming after another hectic mission.

"Say… About that earlier conversation of ours", Daruk started. _'Please, no',_ Link thought.

"That person you happen to have feelings for, could it be _\--heh, I don't know--_ is there any chance that the person just happens to be one of our fellow Champions, hmm?"

Link felt panic rushing over him and he stopped walking. He looked up to Daruk in shock. _'How did he..?'_

Daruk bursted into laughter. "Ahahaha! Oh, little guy, that expression of yours tells me all I need to know! This is wonderful! Seeing two people falling for each other is such a beautiful thing to witness."

Link shook his head as his shock started to turn into confusion. "Wait. What do you mean by 'two'?"

"Well, I might've noticed during our time together that the other party was developing some feelings towards your direction." Daruk nudged Link with his elbow. "But I do have to admit, I wasn't sure about you. I mean, you are pretty hard to read at times."

"Just- just wait a second." Link tried to process everything from Daruk's words to his own racing thoughts. "Are you sure?"

"I mean, yeah, you are like a blank slate sometimes-"

"Wha-? No, not that. I meant; are you sure about…?"

"Oh? Oh! Yeah, totally! You'd have to blind not to notice, hahah. Eh… No offence, I guess."

Link breathed a small laugh and the smile was creeping in. He couldn't believe it, it's almost too good to be true. Guess he just wasn't as observant as he thought. But then the brief excitement started to fade. Would this even change anything?

"So, what are you going to do now?" Daruk asked.

"I… I don't know. All my life I've prepared myself for, well, for everything, but this…" Link shrugged. "I really don't know what to do."

"Hmm… Seems like you two need some alone time to talk things over. You know what? I have an excellent idea for it!" Daruk exclaimed proudly. Link gave him a doubtful look.

"Yeah! Just leave it to me! First we'll leave this rock and head towards the castle." Daruk placed his hand on Link's back and started pushing him forward. The Goron clearly was in a hurry.

Link sighed. _'Fine.'_

\--

The sun had set and beautiful & shining stars were starting to appear in the sky. Link took in the slightly chilling evening breeze. Daruk had left him alone for a moment, said he needed to take care of something, but now he and Daruk had arrived together at a courtyard at the Hyrule castle. The courtyard served as training grounds, reserved for the Champions. The castle walls surrounding them gave them all the privacy they needed for training.

"Hey! Stop looking at the stars and focus", Daruk said and hit Link's back with a wooden practice sword. Link turned around to look at him.

"We really came here to train? I thought you had a plan… Plan for the… You know…", Link still had a hard time accepting that _any of this_ was happening.

"Hey, have a little faith in me. I know what I am doing, okay?", Daruk hit playfully Link's head with the wooden blade.

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard from the doors, "Isn't it a little late for training?" Link turned around to see-

"Mipha! There you are! We were waiting for you", Daruk grinned.

"...We were?" Link tried to ask, but Daruk silenced him with a strong pat on the back. Daruk continued, "Why, it's never too late to get some good ol' training done. Hyrule needs us to be at the top of our _game_ after all, haha."

"Uhm, yes. And thank you for the invitation, Daruk", Mipha said and made her way towards the spears.

"Sure thing! I did promise to take you along one of these days. But, _oh_ , look at the time! I better head back home!" 

"What? Already? But I just got here", Mipha wondered.

"Yeah, well, it's been a long day." Daruk faked a yawn. "But I'm sure you kids can get some training done without me just fine, hehe."

Mipha glanced shyly at Link and then turned back to the spears. "Very well," she replied. Link kept his puzzled gaze at Daruk, who was now backing away towards the doors. Link mouthed the words "What are you doing?" at him, but Daruk just kept on grinning and gave him the thumbs up. And so, Daruk entered the dark hallway and closed the huge doors behind him, leaving Link and Mipha alone in the courtyard. _I'm so lost_ , Link thought.

"Link? Is everything all right?" Mipha asked. She had picked a training spear and was now standing next to him.

"Uh, yeah. Daruk's just acting little weird." Link still kept his eyes at the doors.

"Oh. Oh, and by the way, there is something I needed to tell you."

Link shifted his eyes to Mipha. _What could it be?_

Revali and Urbosa had arrived at the castle. Urbosa wanted to personally make sure that Revali would talk things over with Link.

"I don't think he's here", Revali remarked as they walked through the castle hallways.

"The guards said that they saw Link and Daruk coming here, you heard it yourself. Don't you worry, we'll find him", Urbosa teased.

"Hmph." Revali crossed his wings. "I still think this is a waste of time."

"Oh, shut it, birdboy." Urbosa hit back. Her attention was soon drawn to the large figure coming towards them.

"Why hello, Urbosa, Revali", Daruk greeted them happily. They both noticed how overly pleased and proud he seemed to be.

"Uh, hello, Daruk. Good day, I assume? And where's Link? I heard you were with him", Urbosa wondered.

"Oh, it's been a good day indeed! And Link, I left him at the training grounds. You won't believe how I just helped…", Daruk kept on talking. Urbosa side eyed at Revali, giving him a sign to keep on going. Revali nodded.

"Daruk, you'll wake up the whole castle if you keep that up," Urbosa interrupted him. She placed her on Daruk's back and urged him to keep on walking forward. "Why don't you tell me everything once we get outside?"

"Sure thing! But I am telling you, I made a huge breakthrough that..", Daruk kept on going. Urbosa was walking next to him, but turned her head to look back at Revali. _Go_ , she mouthed. Revali watched as Urbosa and Daruk disappeared behind the corner. _Hm, now that Urbosa isn't here to babysit me I could just…_ Even without being here, Revali could hear Urbosa calling him a coward. _Dammit, I have to do this don't I?_ Reluctantly, Revali started to walk towards the training grounds.

Revali was standing in front of the doors to the courtyard. Standing there, somehow, this was the most nerve-racking moment of his life. What would he even say? And even if he managed to mutter some words out, what would _his_ response be? Revali took a deep breath. _Only one way to find out, I suppose._ He started to push the door open when… he heard laughter? He peeked through the slightly open doors and saw _Link_ and… Mipha. They were sitting on the ground talking about something. They were too far away for him to hear exactly what they were talking about, but what he saw was enough. Mipha seemed over the moon -as usual when she was with Link. The Zora princess' crush wasn't exactly well hidden, which made Revali's stomach turn at times. And Link… he seemed to be happy as well. Urbosa's words echoed in his head; _"Mipha does appreciate his company -unlike you, it seems"._ Revali knows she meant it as just some snarky quip, but she's right. Watching Link, Revali can finally admit it to himself; he does appreciate Link, _in the same way as Mipha_. Only difference being, Mipha actually has the heart to show it (even if she tries to hide it). And Link deserves that. Link deserves better than _him_. Revali closed the door.

\--

"You did what!?" Urbosa's voice echoed outside the castle.

"I- I thought I was helping! I really did", Daruk tried to explain.

Urbosa had placed her hand on her face. "And it really didn't occur to you to ask _who_ he was talking about?"

"Mipha likes him, so here I thought, of course it must be mutual. Are you sure he wasn't talking about her? Who else could it be?"

Urbosa crossed her arms and kept watching towards the distance. "I sent him to the training grounds", she sounded kind of defeated.

"Hm? You sent who-? _Oh_." Daruk realized.

Urbosa sighed, "You know what? This isn't even our business. Did we stir the pot a little? Sure, but because of us, the thing is more out in the open now. I'm sure they can talk it out."

Daruk raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? The other is a knight who barely talks and the other is, _well_ , Revali", he doubted.

"...You have a point there. Maybe we _should_ help them a little bit more."

Daruk gave her a knowing look and sighed deeply. "My friend, I know how you feel. I too feel like I need anything else to think about other than the Calamity, _and this would be a nice little distraction_ , but… I honestly feel like we should leave this matter to them." 

Urbosa turned her eyes to the ground. _He's right._

Suddenly, Daruk's expression lightened up a little. He remembered something, "Speaking of distractions… Did you hear about the princess' plan for tomorrow?"

Urbosa's eyes shifted back to Daruk. "Hm? What plan are you talking about?"


End file.
